Bethany Hamilton

By: Kristin Sawmiller

Bethany Hamilton

By: Kristin Sawmiller

Characteristics of a tragic hero

-Great but not perfect, flawed but elevated to a higher position in society.

- Downfall particularly their own fault based on a judgment they made.

-Hero's punishment is not wholly deserved, often more than the crime.

-Their fall is not pure loss, something is learned from it.

-Tragedy may be sad but does not leave the audience in a state of depression

Summary of Bethany's life

Bethany Hamilton was a young girl who had a dream of becoming a pro surfer. She started at a young age and put in a lot of hard work to achieve her goal. One day she was out on the water surfing, dangling her arms in the water, all of a sudden a shark cam up and bit her arm off. It was a miracle that she survived let alone ever surf again. Since she only had one arm it made it very difficult to paddle and keep her balance while surfing. Her frustrations with failure caused her to give surfing up for good, but it was her whole life and she had a true passion for it. Bethany decided to give it one more try and ended up concurring her obstacles. She became one of the best surfers and went on to be a pro, she was better than most, and she only had one arm.

Bethany Hamilton

Bethany Hamilton - My Story "Soul Surfer"

What makes Bethany a tragic hero

-Character of noble stature and greatness.

-Great but not perfect, flawed but elevated to a higher position in society.

-Hero's punishment is not wholly deserved, often more than the crime.

-Their fall is not pure loss, something is learned from it.

Bethany set very high goals for herself at a very young age. She was very determined to be a pro surfer and spread the word of god. She has her flaws just like any other kid but everyone held her to a higher standard. Everyone knows surfing is a dangerous sport and are award of the things you share the water with. People just never expect it to be them. Which is why her punishment is not wholly deserved, it was a bad place at a bad time. Bethany took this tragedy and turned it into an opportunity for a life lesson. She got to spread the word of god and she got to inspire many other people around the world. Just because something bad happens to you doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world…try try again!

“Life is a lot like surfing… When you get caught in the impact zone, you’ve got to just get back up. Because you never know what may be over the next wave.”